Another Life
by jesse1588
Summary: A life lived differently. Harry is the boy who lived, but he wasn't the only one to survive. A life with a single parent.
1. The End Of Life As We Know It

**Story Title:** Another Life

**Chapter Title:** The End Of Life As We Know It

**Author:** Jessica (Jess88)

**Chapter:** 1/?

**Rating:** K

**Ships:** Lily/James

**Disclaimer:** JKR owns everything.

**Author Notes: **The idea of a story like this has been floating around in my mind so i decided to write it.

**Warning:** Minor DH spoiler in this chapter.

"No Harry!!!!!!"

"You can't save him!" A nasty voice laughed and a green flashed and Lily Potter woke up. She looked around the room and realized it was all a dream; James was snoring beside her not aware she just had a terrifying nightmare. Lily got out of bed and went to her son's room where he was sleeping soundly, she picked him up and sat on the rocking chair and started to sing. Lily stopped rocking Harry and just watched him, the next thing she knew, something was being pulled from her; and she opened her to se James taking Harry out of her lap.

"What time is it?" Lily asked yawning.

"Nine in the morning, I didn't want to wake you, but Harry does need to eat." James said as he watched his wife. "If you're tired, why don't you go back to sleep and I'll make us breakfast." Lily shook her head and stood up, and followed James downstairs. Harry was strapped in his high chair, Lily got out pots and pans to make breakfast but James told her to sit and relax. She sat in front of Harry and played with him while James made pancakes. James magically put the plates in front of them and made up a bowl of baby food for Harry.

"You know James that it's Halloween, in the muggle world the children go out trick-or-treating."

"They do what?" James asked with his mouth full of food.

"Don't talk with your mouth full James! They go out trick or treating, they go to door to door collecting candy, and it's a tradition that has been around for years. Petunia and I used to go out before I started Hogwarts." Lily explained. James just looked at her and shook his head. Harry noticed that his parents weren't looking at him and so he banged his bottle on his high chair and startled Lily who jumped and yelped. James looked at Harry to see him trying to laugh and then looked at Lily looking annoyed and laughed and rubbed Harry's head. Lily glared at James who shook his head.

"You know Lily you have to admit it was funny." James said.

"When will you grow up?"

"Never?" James said innocently while Lily shook her head.

"Broom! Broom! Broom!" Harry said clapping his hands together.

"When we get you dressed and washed up ok?" Lily told her son.

"What do you think trying for another one?" James asked clearly the plates.

"Not until we know Harry is safe."

"But he is safe; I mean nothing has happened to him or us since we've been in hiding. I mean Voldemort will suspect that we switched to Peter." James said seriously.

Lily shivered, she hadn't like the idea of switching secrets keepers, she certainly hadn't like the idea of using Peter, she had never really trusted him, but James did trust him, and Lily went along with his choice because she did after all trust her husband. She could not however shake the feeling that something terrible was going to happen, and it scared her.

"Yet, being the key word James," Lily said and took Harry to his room to get him dressed. James didn't know what to think.

"Lily I think you're over-reacting. Just relax alright, nothing is going to happen, to us ok, I promise." James said kissing her. Lily couldn't hep but smile but she was still scared. She took out her wand and pointed it at Harry and cleaned him up then took him to get dressed.

James signed, at least Lily had not suspected anything yet... but he knew it was only a matter of time. Lily was in the living room putting Harry on his small broom that hid godfather got him for his birthday, he loved it but Lily and James had to watch him every time he went on it to make sure he didn't crash or hurt him self. When the broom raised in the air Harry went forward and hit the couch and then bounce back and hit it again. James walked over and turned the broom and he fly through Lily's leg and chase after the cat who shirked and ran. Lily and James both ran after the cat, and levitated her, and she howled, Harry looked at his parents with a disappointed look who both looked him sternly. He flew away and his parents ran after him again. He was having fun until he crashed and hit the kitchen table. Lily untied him and picked him up. It took half an hour for him to stop crying, when James pulled out his wand and shot out floating fake animals.

Harry looked at them and tried to reach for them. after a few tries he managed to grab one and held it until it dissolved in his hands. James picked him and told him it was time for a nap, which Harry wasn't happy about and started screaming and trying to get out of his fathers arms but he was not getting anywhere. James put him in his crib and he left the room, Harry of course was not yet tired and wanted to play so he started to throw everything out of his crib and was left with nothing in his cot. He grabbed the bars and started shaking them. Of course that did not get his parents attention but he kept doing it, when he got tired of standing he fell to the mattress. He lied down and closed his eyes. Lily was on the other side of the door, listening to Harry's crying. She wanted to go in but it he had fall asleep on his own. After two hours Lily woke Harry up and started to fill the bathtub with warm water. She put him in and washed him and played with him then dried and dressed him then took him to the living room where he played on the floor while James and her talked.

"James I do want another child, but not right now. He wants us and he won't stop until we're dead. I don't want to be a more target than we already are." Lily said

"Lily we're always going to be a target while we like it or not and there's nothing we can do about it. I mean it could be years before Voldemort is dead. Do you really want to wait that long? I don't, and I don't think you do either." Lily didn't know what to say so she said nothing, James took her face in his hands and kissed her forehead, then held her, and they watched Harry play. Lily picked up Harry and turned to the window and saw a tall figure coming towards the door.

"James….. There's someone coming towards the door……" Lily said and James turned around and saw the figure and knew who it was instantly.

"Lily take him and go, save yourself!" James shouted and ran into the hallway while Lily grab Harry and tried to run to the back door, but Voldemort was too fast, he froze Lily and summoned Harry, but James flicked his wand out of his hand and grabbed Harry. Voldemort just laughed and picked up his wand.

"Give me the boy, and I'll spare your disgusting life." Voldemort sneered but James did not move, he held Harry close to him and tried run up the stairs but Voledmort stopped him. He pointed wand at James and uttered the killing curse. James' body fell to the ground, and Voldemort leaned over and pointed his wand over Harry, and again he uttered the killing curse. Lily watched as the green light went towards Harry but then it bounced off him and it went back to Voldemort and he screamed in pain along with Harry, then his body explored in bright light ans there was only a shadow like mist left and it fled the house. The house started to shake and pieces of the roof exploded and caved in.

Lily was stuck on the ground where she could not move, Harry was crying, but the body-bind curse seemed to be wearing off, Lily kept trying to move and little by little, she was able to move, it took her twenty minutes to fight it and Harry was still crying. Lily crawled to James and Harry, she picked him up, held him and looked at his fore-head where he was bleeding. She took her wand out and cleaned his fore-head. The blood disappeared but a lightening bolt cut lingered, Lily tried to close the wound but it was no use. She looked at her dead husband, she touched his face and it was cold. She started to sob, She must have cried for a long time. She calmed herself down.

Lily stood slowly and went to the closet where James kept his broom, she took it out and grabbed her cloak. She wrapped Harry in a small blanket and gave him a bottle from the fridge which put him to sleep then grabbed all the money she could take, muggle and wizard then went out to the, picked up a rock and transfigured it into a baby carrier, she put Harry in it and strapped him to her back then got on the broom and kicked off. She flew high, and fast trying to get away from the house as possible. She had no idea where she was going. She was heading to Scotland , but she knew she couldn't make that flight all in one night, so she headed down lower and landed in a dark alleyway. She got off the broom and shrunk it and put in her pocket. She also put a glamour on herself and Harry, so that no one would be able to see who they were.

Lily left the alleyway, holding a sleeping Harry in her arms. She walked for half an hour and found a hotel to stay in. She checked in and put herself under the name of Thomas. She went into her room, had a look around then got ready to have a bath. An hour later she was in bed holding Harry, trying to sleep but she couldn't no matter how hard she tried. The following morning she got up, dressed, ordered breakfast, then went on the roof of the hotel and kicked off. It was a good thing Lily decided to when dawn had started to come because muggles would have seen her, but she knew this. She also thought that the sooner she got to Hogwarts the better. It was just past lunch time when Lily finally saw the castle. She picked up more speed and landed in front of the door to the castle. The students were obviously on lunch because some were hanging out in the court yard and in the entrance hall. They looked at her, but she paid no attention to them and walked to Dumbledore's office, where she stood trying to guess the password.

"Lily, you're alive?" A voice behind her asked.


	2. Two Weeks Before

**Story Title:** Another Life

**Chapter Title:** Two Weeks Before

**Author:** Jessica (Jess88)

**Chapter:** 2/?

**Rating:** K+

**Ships:** Lily/James, James/OC

**Disclaimer:** JKR owns everything.

**Author Notes****: **This chapter will be going back two weeks before Halloween, but I think it will work and make sense. After this chapter is posted I will start writing chapter nine for Time's Mistake. Thanks for all the reviews, and the faves, and everything else! Hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Warning: **There are some adult themes in this chapter; however it will not be detailed, but if offended then you don't have to read.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

James Potter woke up with Lily beside him breathing softly. He leaned and kissed her then got out of bed and walked queitly to Harry's room and picked him and held him. It was hard for him to do this but he felt this was the best protection for Harry or even Lily, they both knew that within the Order there was a spy, so James couldn't afford to take any chances.

If Lily died, he would be around for Harry, but if Harry died, well he couldn't begin to think of the horror of his only son dead. He put Harry back in his crib and walked out of the room. He went to the basement and went to the shelf that had the book he needed. he opened the book and found what he was looking for. He took his wand and pointed it at himself. He said the charm that he wanted and waited to see if it worked, at first there was nothing, but then he felt a weird sensation and saw himself walk out of him. He looked at himself, and it looked just like him. He was amazed. The counter part walked up the stairs, James took his wand and once again pointed it at himself, this time he put a glamour on and left the house. He felt bad about leaving his family like this but he knew that it was the only way he could protect himself. He hoped that nothing would happen but he had a bad feeling that something bad was going to happen.

He turned into his animagus form and ran down the street and into the closest forest he could find. He needed to find a place where he wouldn't be found. He wasn't trying to hide from wizards; he was trying to hide from his friends, his family and the Order members. If he was found, he was sure that lily would find out and that would destroy everything, and he knew that couldn't happen. He kept running until he reached the other side of the forest, he turned back and took his wand out. Taking his broom out of his pocket, he enlarged it, Lily didn't like flying but he had shown her in case she ever needed to escape from danger, so he made a copy for Lily just to be safe.

James walked to the street and found that it was a muggle shopping district. It seemed nothing was open early in the morning, which was fine by him, the less people he saw the better. He kept walking, until he found a dark and shadowy and run down shack. In front, to any muggle it was nothing interesting, but to a wizard it was something else. James walked to the building and walked in, it was a coffee house. He went to the counter and ordered a coffee and sat down.

"Here is your drink Mr...?" The waitress trailed off not knowing his name. She was average height, brown eyes, brown hair.

"Mr. Brown, but you can call me Steve." James said taking his coffee.

"Ok, nice to meet you Steve, I have to get back to work, but my shift is over in half an hour. We can sit and talk then." The waitress said and went back to work while James _Qudditch Weekly, _and read up on the international league and of course England was not doing very well. James remembered when McGonagall had told him that he would have been great a player for the English team, but he knew that he had to fight in the war, as much as he loved playing Qudditch. He also wanted to be with Lily and playing Qudditch would have made that rather hard, not to mention starting a family.

A while later the waitress was back and she sat down in front of James they talked for an hour about almost everything. Her name was Myra Clark, she had just moved from New Zealand. She was half-blood, and was getting money under her belt before taking her N.E.W.T and then hopefully start her training at St. Mungos. Her parents were very reluctant to let her leave home because of the war in the UK, but she had convinced that it was for the best.

Myra reminded James of Lily, and he was warming up to her, he just had to be careful what he told otherwise he would blow his cover and it was the last thing he needed. He told her that he was from London, and went to Hogwarts and was not working in the mean time. He would be working if he wasn't in hiding, he loved being an aAuror, and being in the Order, but he was limited to what he could do, even with his animagus form. Myra gave a questioning look about his lack of work and James just smiled.

"Are you going to tell me why?"

"I got load of inheritance from my parents when they died." James told her, which was true but his family was one of the oldest families around, but they didn't believe in the pure-blood status, there were a few that did however, but they never attacked or killed anyone who was less then pure.

"Shouldn't you be going home? I mean your shift is over, and I better start looking at places to stay." James told her.

"You need a place to stay? Why didn't you say so earlier, I have a spare room in my flat, if you would like to stay there for awhile." Myra suggested to him and James nodded and followed her to the fireplace. He watched her step in then he stepped through was in a small flat, with two bedrooms, one bathroom, a kitchen and a sitting area. He liked though it.

"I've only got one bed, but you can transfigure that chair into a bed, I've never liked it anyways. Make yourself at home I'm going to have a shower." Myra said heading into the bathroom and closing the door. James made his bed and then lied down. It was noon and James did wake up rather early, so he shut his eyes. It was a couple of hours later when he woke up to find he was in an unfamiliar place, it took a minute to realize where was. He got up to find Myra reading a book. He sat down in front of her. He watched her read and she stopped, and looked at him.

"Sleep well?" Myra asked and James nodded, he yawned and stretched his arms out. Myra smiled, and asked him what he wanted for dinner. James suggested soup, and grilled cheese, so they both got up and set to work. James burnt the bread because he didn't know that he was supposed to put butter on each side before putting it in the pan. Myra laughed and shook her head, if it had been Lily, he would have played a joke on her, but he didn't know this woman and he didn't want to get off on the wrong foot, or make her angry. They finally ate when James started over and had put the butter on the bread. Myra took James to Diagon Ally and showed him around and he went to Gringotts and transferred some money in his parents' vault into another account he created under his fake name, he also set up a trust fund for Lily and the Goblins to hold on to it until Lily came.

He saw a few people from school but he knew they were from Slytherin and joined Voldemort, which is why he did not take his eyes off them and had his hand on his wand in case they did something, he was tense and anxious and Myra noticed this.

"Are you okay, you look rather anxious and scared, what's wrong?"

"I went to school with them over there and they are very dangerous, I'm just worried they might attack people or do something horrible." James said not taking his eyes off them, and Avery looked him and took his wand out. James took his out as well. He shot a stunner at Avery but it missed, and Avery hit him with the Crucuiatus Curse, James screamed in pain but not for long because Myra hexed Avery and James got up, he took Myra's hand and they both ran back to the Leaky Cauldron, but Avery and Nott followed them. Avery shot another Crucuiatus, hitting Myra who fell to the ground and screamed. James turned around and stunned Avery who fell to the ground. James grabbed Myra's hand and ran as fast as he could. Myra was severely shaking. James carried her to her bed and put her down, then found some sleeping potion and gave it to her. She slept for a long time. Knowing that she had to work, James went to the Cafe' and told her boss she wasn't going to be in that night.

As the days went by, the two got to know each other more and more. Myra began to have romantic feelings for James, she was very thankful towards James after he saved her from the death eaters. James of course knew this but he was very much still in love with Lily, so the feelings weren't returned. She hadn't made it completely obvious, but he could tell by the way she looked and smiled at him. Just a few days before Halloween Myra took him out to dinner as a way of saying thanks to him. James told her she didn't have to, but Myra insisted.

They had a great time together; they talked about their friends, school, and families. When they got home, Myra looked James and then hugged him, then closed her eyes and leaned into James. James took Myra's hands off him, Myra looked hurt.

"Myra, it's too early in our friendship for that. I'm also not ready for another relationship; I just got out of one. My ex and I dated for fours, we were engaged, but she called it off and dumped me. I'm sorry but I can't do this right now." James said and walked to his bedroom and lied down.

He thought about what Myra wanted, and how he felt and Lily. He loved Lily more than anything, he missed her lots and Harry too, not to mention his friends, his life and that he was starting to think that maybe he hadn't made a very good choice leaving his wife and his son, he thought about going back, but then his plan would stop working, and he was scared of Lily's temper.

Myra stood there thinking about what just happened. She went to her room and lay down thinking about her feelings for James, as well as his reaction. She didn't know what to think and how to deal with James' rejection. She liked him and wanted more and she thought that James felt the same way, and that's why she had tried to kiss him. Clearly she had been wrong.

The next morning James got up and grabbed a bowl of cereal, and sat down reading the Daily Prophet. Myra came into the kitchen but did not say anything to him; she was upset and angry with him for pulling away and leaving her by the fireplace. She grabbed her breakfast and left for work without a word. James knew that he made the right choice, but he felt guilty. He didn't like that Myra wasn't talking to him, but he knew that he would feel worse if he had allowed the kiss to happen. The story of him being dumped was made up on the spot and he was lucky that Myra seemed to believe him. Of course having made up stories in school made that easy, but that didn't mean he liked lying about being singe when he was married with a child whom he dearly loved.

Even though James and Myra weren't talking it didn't mean they weren't looking at each other from time to time. James was clearly thinking hard about something. Myra assumed that it was his ex-fiancé, but she didn't know that James was telling lies, she didn't know that his name was Steve Brown,, or that he was married with a toddler. Had she known all of this, she wouldn't have thought twice about inviting Steve to live at her place. She of course wouldn't know this.

It took Myra a few days to warm up to James again; it wasn't until Halloween that Myra seemed to be happier made small talk with James before going to work.

"Good morning James." Myra said and smiled at him. James smiled back and told her good morning back.

"When I get back, I want to talk to you about some of the things that I've been thinking about for a while. I have to go ok? Have a good day" Myra said as she stepped into the fire. James

James had woken up early because of a big nightmare and he couldn't shake it. It was of Voldemort trying to murder himself and his family. It scared him to no end, because he knew that Harry was a major target. He couldn't bare to think of the nightmare becoming true. James had trouble resisting the urge to check on Lily, he would have done if he had his cloak but he had given it to Dumbledore to keep it safe, should anything happen to him. It was very old, and it have been handed down from each generation, so the last thing James wanted was someone other than his family getting a hold of it.

James decided to go for a walk and found the forest he first ran into. He turned into a stag and ran around, he felt great and it relieved a lot of stress and a lot of the fear from the nightmare. He ran for hours and hours, when his legs began to feel tired he walked to the edge of the forest and became himself and walked home and got into the shower and made dinner knowing that Myra would be home soon.

Dinner was ready when Myra stepped through the fire. She smiled at James and hugged him then had a quick shower and sat down across the table from James. James asked her about her day and she told him about a few rude costumers she had. James told her he went for a long run and how he felt a lot better after he got home. Myra changed the subject and told him what has been on her mind. She was annoyed that she was the only one paying rent when James lived there, and that James did nothing to earn his living. She wanted more help, she wanted him to get a job or find another place to live.

James listened to her and took in what she had to say. He understood and told her that he would start looking for a job the next day. Myra however wasn't finished talking, she went on to say that she also didn't like the fact that he pushed her away after their dinner date even if he wasn't ready. James told her he was sorry but he wasn't ready, he had really loved his fiancé, and wasn't ready to let her go.

"Steve, you're being stupid, she had no problem letting you go so now its time to let her go! You're not doing yourself any good. Why can't you just give me a chance? I'm the one who took you in for god's sake! I liked you from the moment we started talking! You didn't even tell me about your bloody fiancé!"

"First of all Myra, I had only just met you, so I didn't really know you well enough to display my private business to just anyone, and it was the last thing I wanted to talk about. I'm trying to get on with my bloody life and I thought moving in with you would help, because I didn't think you would fall for me, and its not that, I don't like you, I'm waiting until I know I'm happy again, but you're not making this easy on me.!"

James left the room and went into the flat hallway and left the building he walked along the street thinking of how unreasonable Myra was being but at the same time she did not know that he was married/ He didn't even suspect that he would end up moving in with another woman and end up making up stories to keep his real self hidden. The last thing he wanted was to be found out by his family friends or worse, Voldemort or his death eaters. James needed a place to stay, because he was not planning on going back to Myra tonight, he disapparated to Diagon Ally and went to the bartender and set up a room for the night.

James went up to his room and lie in the bed, he thought of his fight with Myra, over and over. He also thought of Lily and how he loved her and wanted to with her, holding her. He knew of course that he could have gone back but there was the risk of dying and not being able to save them. No it was better this way, as much as it pained him. The nightmare still scared him to no end; he closed his eyes to rest but fell asleep instead.

When he woke up, he knew instantly that something was very wrong, something was wrong with Lily. He ran out of the inn and into the backyard that lead to Diagon Alley and apparated to Godric's Hollow. He could see that the living room have caved in, He ran in, he took out his wand moving the rumble trying to find Harry or Lily. He only found his body. If he was dead then where were Lily and Harry? There was no sign of them anywhere in the house, James checked all over. Were they alive then? Were they captured? James didn't know and the thought of Lily made him sick but the thought of his only son being tortured or killed made him throw up.

James left the house and went back to the Leaky Cauldron and sat down at the bar, he had so many drinks that Tom, had to levitate him to his room. The next morning James had a huge hangover, he was so dizzy, he couldn't stand, he tried and tell to the floor. He just laid there. This went on for a few days. When Tom told him it was time for him to leave, James went back to Myra's flat. He knocked on the door. Myra answered and looked at him.

Myra, I'm sorry I rejected you, I need you. I'm lonely." James said trying to get his words out, Myra took his hand and took him to her room. James started to kiss her, it got deeper and deeper, and then they stopped for air. James took his shirt off, while Myra took her off.

James was not himself the rest of the night, nor was he in his right mind otherwise, he would have thought twice about his actions and would soon come to regret them, but how was he to know in his drunken state?

James knew he didn't love Myra but that didn't stop him from making love to Myra, who thought that James ad come to his senses and finally realized that he returned her feelings, little did she know. The two had fun for a while until Myra woke up and ran to the toilet. James got up and made breakfast, which Myra didn't eat much of. She got into the shower, and James joined her, after they were done, James and Myra got dressed and ready. James had a try out for a major league Qudditch team while Myra went to work.

Myra had trouble being around the food all morning. She was sick at least twice; her boss sent her home, which she gladly took advantage of. When she got home, she had received a letter from her parents saying that they were going to visit her on the weekend, which Myra wasn't all too happy about, seeing as she was sick. She called up her best friend Angel, who came over. Myra told her everything about Steve, the fight and how they had been seeing each other and how she was sick, and her parents coming to see her.

"Myra I don't think you're sick. Have you taken a test?" Angel asked concerned for Myra. Myra shook her head and sat down on the couch. Angel told her to lie down, which Myra did. Angel tapped her wand on Myra who watched, they waited fives minutes, When the tells results showed up Myra had fallen asleep so Angel didn't get a chance to tell her.

James got to the stadium with his broom in hand. He looked at all the other men trying out as well. It had been a while since James had played but he figured that after a bit of warming up he would be alright. The coach lined them all up in the positions they were trying out for. There were fifty in all, five keepers, five seekers, twenty beaters and twenty chasers. The keepers and seekers did twenty laps around the enormous pitch, most of the players were able to keep up with each other, but four of them could not. When the laps were over the ten players came back to the ground. All the couches had clip boards in their hands and all said the same thing. Only six of the first group had made the laps. The next were the chasers. James flew around the pitch in the first group of ten and was always ahead of everyone else, and was even the first person on the ground. Only six others made the laps, and the rest of day went the same way. By the end of the day there were only four keepers and seekers, ten, beaters and twelve chasers, they had had made it to the second day of try outs and James was pleased, to be one of the players.

James went home to a quiet flat, Myra was in bed sleeping, so he cleaned himself up and made a quick dinner and got into bed with Myra. The second day of try out was just as tiring but it was worth it to James who had made the team, along with Vince Gret, Eric Baker who were also chasers while Bine Beven and Mitch Glass, were beaters, Ross Ackart, was the keeper and Dan Steller was the seeker. James signed the deal and went home to celebrate with Myra and her parents. James quickly ran into the shower and put on some nice robes. James was taking Myra and her parents to the nicest restaurant there was in Diagon Alley. James was a little late but Myra didn't seem to mind, nor did her parents.

"Mum, dad, this is Steve Brown and Steve this is my mum, Mary Clark and my dad. Dave Clark." Myra introduced everyone. The four had a lovely time together, and James told them that he made the team he tried out for called the Maple Oaks. They were all happy for him.

"I have some new of my own….. I'm pregnant"

James dropped hid glass of champagne to the floor.


	3. Letting Go

**Story Title:** Another Life

**Chapter Title:** Letting Go

**Author:** Jessica (Jess88)

**Chapter:** 3/?

**Rating:** K

**Ships:** N/A

**Disclaimer:** JKR owns everything.

**Author Notes: **So sorry it took me along time to post, I haven't had a lot of inspiration to write until this past weekend.

_"Lily, you're alive?" A voice behind her asked._

Lily turned around to see Severus Snape standing behind her with shock on his face.

"Severus? What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to Dumbledore about something but it doesn't matter anymore, now that I know you're alive." Severus said with a weak smile, which Lily didn't return. She was not sure what she should say or what to do.

"All the papers are saying that the dark lord showed up at your house and killed Potter, that you were either dead or you disappeared, but not likely to be alive and your son is now hailed for stopping his powers." Severus said and looked at Harry and sure enough there was a scar on his forehead. Lily nodded at what Severus had said.

"Can we go somewhere more private, I don't want to be found by anyone right now, especially if they all think that I'm missing, which is a good thing in some weird way." Lily said.

"Why don't we go to my place on Spinner's End, we shouldn't be bothered there." Lily nodded and Severus started to walk and Lily followed behind him looking at Harry who was sleeping still in her arms. When they reached the school gates, they disapparated to Spinner's End, Severus walked into the house letting Lily in ahead of him and took her into the family room. Lily looked around and sat down.

"So what exactly happened?" Severus said wanting to know everything.

"I was picking up Harry and I looked out the window, I saw him walking towards the door, James told me to run, and I tried but he stuck me to the wall and took Harry from me. James took him and tried to run up the stairs but he was killed before he got up, then he turned his wand on Harry…. He tried to kill him but it didn't work, it rebounded on him and he was ripped from his body. The ceiling craved in on Harry. I eventually broke the hex on me and grabbed Harry and left. I flew all the way to Hogwarts and found you…What am I going to do? I'm scared Sev, James is dead, there's no way I'm going back to Godric's Hollow, I have no where to go." Lily said and started to sob.

Severus was never really a comforting kind of person but he reached out to Lily and pulled her close. Lily sobbed and held him. When she finally stopped crying she was exhausted, Severus carried her upstairs and put her in bed and she was asleep in no time. Severus watched her until he remembered that her son was in the living room probably getting into god knows what. When Severus found Harry he was still asleep on the couch to which he was thankful, he knew his house wasn't child proof and if he had gotten into something and gotten hurt… Well he didn't want to think what would happen because he knew Lily had a vicious temper. Severus decided to take Harry to his mother so that Severus could rest without worrying.

Lily woke up to a loud cry, and immediately bolted from the bed and found Harry crying, she picked him up, held him tightly and cuddled and soon his crying ceased into whimpers, most likely because he was hungry. Lily headed downstairs to find Severus sleeping on the couch, she woke him up.

"Sorry to wake you, Severus, but Harry is hungry and I don't have any food for him, do you mind taking me to the store?" Lily asked and Severus nodded. They both got changed and left for the bank and the grocery store. When they got back Lily and Severus talked about where Lily was going to live and what she was going to do about what the paper were saying about her. Severus suggested moving in with him, which Lly gently shot down, due to the fact that it wasn't safe for her. Lily decided to look for houses in the area so that she lived closed by. Severus agreed with this and told Lily that he would help her in the morning. Severus was about to go back to bed but he knew that there was an intruder in his house, Luckily they were in the kitchen which gave Lily time to get to safety upstairs.

"SNAPE!" A voice yelled and Severus headed to the living room where Bellatrix Lesstrange was waiting for him.

"What do you want?" Severus asked rather coldly, as he was not happy that she was in his house.

"The dark lord is gone and no one knows where he is. We are trying to find him, but we can't, and we can't find that Potter boy either, we need your help to find them."

"And I would if I wasn't working at Hogwarts, I only came home for the weekend because I remembered that I have some potion ingredients that I need."

"Dumbledore would never know what you're doing Snape, and as your duty to the dark lord, you should be looking for him. You swore your life to him!"

"I'm not going to look for someone who is supposed to be dead, and Dumbledore has the boy hidden and he will not tell anyone where and even if you did know, I'm sure you wouldn't see him even if you were looking at him in the face. So run along."

"Well if you change your mind we're going to find out from the Longbottoms, even if it means killing them." Bellatrix said and stepped through the fire place.

Severus ran into his fire place and stepped into Dumbledore's office. He was already there at his desk and knew that Severus was in his office without even looking at him.

"What can I do for you Severus?"

"Bellatrix Lestrange just came to see me to convince me to find him and Lily's son. She said she was going to go to the Longbottoms to get information and she even said she will kill them if she has to."

"Thank you Severus, I will let the Aurors know, and they will check up on them." Severus nodded and was about to head home but Albus wanted to stay.

"Severus, have you found the ingredients yet, or were you looking for an excuse to stay home and not tell me why? Considering the dangers of the death eaters rage and confusion." Dumbledore said hoping that Severus would tell him something but he was disappointed because Severus did not give up anything that was suspicious.

"I wanted the weekend to myself, I wanted to get away from the students, they are loud and annoying." Severus said, and it was true even if it wasn't why he left the school. Albus laughed and shook his head.

"You know Severus you were once a student yourself and not so different from them."

"Yet they have not seen how cruel the world can be, what reality will do to anyone." Severus said. Dumbledore nodded and showed Severus out.

Lily was hiding in one of the bedrooms closets trying to keep Harry quiet until Severus came back. Lily knew she could fight if she had to but would rather avoid that if possible. Not long did Severus come back and called Lily out, but she was hesitant because she feared someone else was in the house. Severus called her several times until he found her in the room.

"Why are you hiding?" Severus asked taking Lily downstairs.

"I thought that maybe one of the death eaters would come and find you. I did not want to be seen if that happened." Harry was finally fed and was a lot happier much to Lily's relief.

"Should we go and look at houses then?" Severus suggested , Lily nodded, transfigured a mug into a stroller and put Harry in it., They walked out of Severus' neighbourhood and walked onto a street called East Bridge and looked at the houses there that were for a sale. One house had four bedrooms, three and a half bathrooms and a pool. The house was a very low price and that made both Lily and Severus suspicious. It turned out that someone was killed in the house five years previous and that it seemed to be haunted, and that's why the house was not selling. When Lily and Severus return to Spinner's End, they talked about the house and decided to put an offer in, the following morning.

That night Dumbledore sent an owl to Severus telling him that Alice Longbottom was dead, however Frank and Neville Longbottom both survived. Lily was upset seeing as Alice was a good friend during the war, before going into hiding. She cried all night, until she was able to fall into uneasy sleep. The following morning Lily went to Gringotts to exchange the money for the house and then went back to East Bridge. The realtor was rather shocked about the offer but accepted.

Lily and Severus moved to but furniture for the house and everything else that Lily was going to need. Within a month Lily was settled in and felt much happier since Halloween. She was starting move on, as hard as it was. She knew that she would always love James and that would never change. She needed to be there for Harry.


	4. Unwanted Baby

**Story Title:** Another Life

**Chapter Title:** Unwanted Baby

**Author:** Jessica (Jess88)

**Chapter:** 4/?

**Rating:** K

**Ships:** James/OC

**Disclaimer:** JKR owns everything.

**Author Notes: **So sorry it took me a long time to post, I haven't had a lot of inspiration to write.

_****_

"_Mum, dad, this is Steve Brown and Steve this is my mum, Mary Clark and my dad. Dave Clark." Myra introduced everyone. The four had a lovely time together, and James told them that he made the team he tried out for called the Maple Oaks. They were all happy for him. _

"_I have some new of my own….. I'm pregnant" _

_James dropped his glass of champagne to the floor. _

"You're....?" James began to say but he could not finish. Myra looked at him and so did her parents. James realised that he was now trapped; he would have to stay with Myra and his child, but what about Lily and Harry? James shook his head and forced himself to look at Myra and smile. He knew he would never love her, but he could be happy with her. He needed to move on because going back to his old life was not an option, not with Lily being dead.

Myra smiled back at him, but she knew there was something wrong, is it his other woman; or was not happy about their child. She didn't know what it was but she fully intended to find out. She looked at her parents to see that they were happy they were finally getting grandkid whether she was married or not. The dinner went on nicely after that, or so it seemed. When Myra and James got home, Myra rounded on James before he could take another step to the bedroom.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Myra snapped at him while James just looked blankly at her.

"What do you mean?"

"The way you reacted when I told you I was pregnant. You looked shocked and unhappy."

"Look Myra the night we slept together I was drunk so I clearly wasn't in my right mind. The day we met, I was told that my wife and son had died in a horrible accident. I left London and came here to get away from everything. I couldn't face anything. I'm still in shock. So you see I'm not ready for a new relationship or another family. I'm sorry Myra right now I can't do this." James said and walked out of the flat. Myra stood there looking at the door. She was shocked, she hadn't expected Steve to admit that his wife was killed and it certainly explained a lot. She wasn't happy however that she was pregnant and would have to be on her own. She was angry at Steve for that.

James walked out of the flat and went to the street. He had no idea that sleeping with

Myra would lead to a child; of course he knew that it could happen if one wasn't being responsible but he was drunk of course that was no excuse. He was still not ready to raise another child when he had just lost his own. James decided that it would be easier to leave the magic world but he was already on the team so he couldn't just leave that and going back to the ministry to be an auror was not an option either, that would raise a lot of question of who he was which was the last thing he wanted. He apparated to the Leaky Cauldron and stepped into Diagon Ally, he knew that all the stores would be closed but Gringotts however would be open, it was always opened.

James went to his vault and took money to spend the night at the Leaky Cauldron. He sat in his bed after he checked in. He thought about Lily and Harry and how he would never see them again. He had no idea how he would be able to raise a child that should have been Lily's with someone he didn't love. He would have to, that much he knew. He fell asleep thinking about the child that would arrive in nine months, the child he didn't want.

The following morning James woke up and remembered that he had Quidditch practice and headed to the stadium. When he got in the air on his broom he felt very much himself and free. He didn't think about Lily, Harry, and Myra, which was better considering that he needed to focus on his training, He did very well, he scored five goals on the keeper. His coach couldn't decide however if he was bad for only getting five goals or that his keeper was really good. He would have to wait until a game to find out. James headed back to the Leaky Cauldron to find a letter on the night stand from Myra.

_Dear Steve,_

_I may not understand the pain that you are in and what you feel but I want to know if you're still going to be the father of my child and help me raise it, I can't do it on my own, not when I want to be a healer. I know you won't have a lot of time when Quidditch training and games pick up but I would like you to be able to give me a hand. I am not asking you to love me, for you made that clear. I just wish you told me from early on, because I wouldn't have tried to become lovers, and I wouldn't have slept with you. However what is done is done and there's no looking back at the past now, we can only move forward and I would like to stay in your life. Think all of this over and let me know. _

_Love Myra. _

James read the letter over and over again, he knew he was going to stay and help Myra raise the child but he didn't want to get married. He took out a quill and parchment and wrote a letter back to Myra.

_Dear Myra, _

_I have read your letter over and over again, I understand what you have said and I agree with you on the fact that we can only move on, but I do not want to get married, as of right now I am still grieving and am not ready for love just yet. I will stay and help you raise our child, because it is the right thing to do, I know it won't be easy for either of us but we can give it our best to do what is right. I will come back to your place tomorrow as of right now I am too tired to leave my room. We should start looking for a bigger house as the two bedroom flat will not do at all. We need at least three bedrooms. I have an idea where we might find one. See you tomorrow. _

_Love James _

James sent the letter and lied down and fell asleep. The following morning he got up and headed back to Myra's place. He walked into the flat to see her making breakfast, she turned around and looked at him and smiled, she was happy that James came back. James smiled at her and sat down. After eating they headed out to look at houses nearby. Myra kept looking for big houses because she assumed James could afford it, which he could but he didn't want a big house because he was didn't want to stand out. Not to mention, the money was _his _and Lily's, not Myra's. So he pretended that he could not touch his inherence until he turned thirty, which disappointed Myra and James could tell, which made James' mind up about marrying her, and he sure as hell would not have any more children with her either. After five hours of searching for a house they finally found one.

The house had red stone and had a pond around the front, with trees. They went inside and looked at every room. They loved everything. The area was perfect too because there was a huge yard and lots of space and no close neighbours which James liked because he could practice his Quidditch without anyone seeing as they were in a muggle town. Myra and James immediately put an offer on the house and it was theirs. They went shopping for furniture right away, James often got annoyed with Myra because she was being so stubborn with what furniture she wanted, not to mention she tried getting the most expensive things she could find, but James refused every time which caused Myra to get annoyed, and James was glad that he was not ready to marry her, and he hoped they never would.


End file.
